SEED PROTEIN PROFILES IN THE NARROW-LEAVED SPECIES OF CHENOPODIUM OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES: TAXONOMIC VALUE AND COMPARISON WITH DISTRIBUTION OF FLAVONOID COMPOUNDS

Water soluble seed proteins from 69 populations representing seven species of Chenopodium were separated electrophoretically. Very little or no intraspecific variation was detected. The use of seed proteins as taxonomic characters was evaluated and compared to data from flavonoid chemistry. Seed proteins are of value in distinguishing C. atrovirens and C. leptophyllum, something which could not be done with flavonoids. Proteins and flavonoid data demonstrated that C. hians and C. leptophyllum are distinct. An analysis of storage proteins failed to differentiate C. desiccatum from C. atrovirens and C. pratericola even though the species are distinct in flavonoids and other characters. Chenopodium atrovirens and C. pratericola produce similar or identical seed proteins, just as they are identical in flavonoids. Seed proteins indicated that plants referable to C. incognitum represent two biological entities, one apparently a minor morphological variant of C. atrovirens and the other conspecific with C. hians. The same interpretation had been given on the basis of flavonoid chemistry. The protein data suggest a close relationship between C. subglabrum on the one hand and C. atrovirens and/or C. desiccatum on the other.     

COMPARISON OF ISOZYMES AMONG TYPHA SPECIES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

Biochemical phenotsypes of four taxa of Typha from the eastern United States were determined by starch gel electrophoresis. The isozyme banding patterns of T. latifolia, T. angustifolia and T. domingensis are distinct and allow unambiguous species identification when morphological characters are inadequate or unsuitable. The fourth form, T. glauca, is not an F₁ hybrid, but it does appear to be intermediate between T. latifolia and T. angustifolia. The status of T. glauca and evolutionary relationships among the four forms may now be clarified by additional sampling because of the distinct and relatively invariant isozyme banding patterns which are described.     

THE CONTRIBUTION OF MATING SYSTEM VARIATION TO REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION IN TWO CLOSELY RELATED CENTAURIUM SPECIES (GENTIANACEAE) WITH A GENERALIZED FLOWER MORPHOLOGY

In closely related plant species that display strong similarities in phenology and pollinator communities, differences in breeding system and associated shifts in floral traits may have important effects on the magnitude and direction of heterospecific pollen flow and hybridization. Here, we quantified the strength of several pre‐ and postzygotic barriers acting between the facultatively outcrossing Centaurium erythraea and the predominantly selfing C. littorale via a suite of experiments, and estimated the frequency of hybridization in the field using molecular markers. The reproductive barriers primarily responsible for preventing hybridization were essentially prezygotic and these acted asymmetrically. Due to differences in floral display, pollen production, and pollen transfer rates, heterospecific pollen flow occurred predominantly from C. erythraea to C. littorale. In C. littorale, on the other hand, close anther–stigma positioning and resulting higher capacity for autonomous selfing functioned as an efficient barrier to counterbalance the higher risk for hybrid mating. In both species the action of all reproductive barriers resulted in a small opportunity for hybrid establishment, which was confirmed by the occurrence of only ～1% putative hybrids in the field. Our findings confirm that differences in breeding system affect heterospecific pollen transfer patterns and that autonomous selfing may efficiently prevent hybridization.     

二倍体野生棉的核型变异和进化

本文对棉属(Gossypium)二倍体野生种5个组的代表种即 B_1(G.anomalum),C_1(G.sturtianum),E_1(G.stocksii),F(G.longicalyx)和 G(G.bickii)的核型进行了分析。提出分布于非洲南北的 B 组野生种为最原始的类型,以此为中心呈辐射状分化和迁移,形成了现今的特殊的地理分布。     

PATTERNS OF ISOZYME VARIATION IN WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN ANTENNARIA (ASTERACEAE: INULEAE) II. DIPLOID AND POLYPLOID SPECIES OF SECTION ALPINAE

Antennaria is a genus of dioecious, perennial, herbaceous Composites that are especially diverse in the cordillera of western North America. Section Alpinae consists of about nine taxa, among them A. aromatica, A. densifolia, A. media, A. pulchella, and A. umbrinella. Although diploids are morphologically distinct, the polyploid derivatives of the diploids obscure the morphological distinctness of the groups. A survey of 19 putative isozyme loci indicates that the diploids have diverged only moderately from one another with respect to biochemical genetics (I = 0.838 to 0.961). Additionally, only moderate amounts of genetic diversity were detected. Isozyme data are supportive of a hypothesis of a rapid mode of speciation in Antennaria, where morphological differentiation has been accompanied by small amounts of allozyme divergence. Polyploids have significantly higher amounts of heterozygosity than diploids and tetrasomic inheritance is inferred. Evidence from morphology and biochemical genetics suggests that the polyploids represent a continuum between interracial autopolyploids and segmental allopolyploids. In light of the relatively low degree of genetic and morphological divergence among many Antennaria species, taxonomic conservatism is advocated.